Cross-Platform: Making It Happen
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This document outlines the phases and workflows for a complex cross-platform educational project. It discusses discovery, scoping, building, testing, and live services phases. It emphasizes stacking dependent workflows can increase risks, and constraints are needed to allow efficient work while maintaining creative freedom. Diagrams map the story, media types, educational content, game logic, and more. Effective collaboration tools like Basecamp, Google Docs, and Codebase are recommended. The importance of generalists and bringing in specialists is also covered, along with sample budget and cost-saving considerations.
Cross-Platform: Making It Happen
- 2. Who am I? I’ve been creating digital content for about 15 years. With Channel 4, BBC, Eurovision, Open University and so on. I’ve worked with brands and broadcasters in hands-on making. I specialise in youth, entertainment and education content.
- 3. Project Phases 5% 13% 11% Discovery & UCD Scoping 16% Build Testing & Revising Launch & Live Services 54%
- 4. Project Approach & Workflows 1. Research & UCD 2. Project Definition 3. Documentation Phase 4. Pre-production & Recruitment 5. Production 6. User Testing 7. Delivery 8. Live Services
- 5. www.nightmarehigh.com A 14-episode fantasy blockbuster which teaches young people about the real effects of transition.
- 6. the project plan (it’s a monster)
- 8. Stacking Workflows “If you stack workflows you increase risks in dependent tracks. On a complex cross-platform project one principle needs to be across all tracks so that when you make key decisions the impacts are checked for feasibility across all tracks”
- 9. Creative Freedom v Efficiency “When running multiple workflows that are co-dependent ensure that you issue adequate constraints to allow the teams to work efficiently, and enough freedom from the constraints of adjacent workflows so that you don’t strangle their creativity”
- 10. Our big ideas often start on paper and whiteboards. If you can DRAW IT then you can MAKE IT.
- 11. PAPER PROTOTYPES
- 12. 3 ACTS : MANY MEDIA This diagram maps the story, act structure, media types, educational value, unlocking game logic, film content and type (drama or doc) and duration.
- 13. MANY LESSONS : MANY MEDIA This diagram maps educational content against media type, and maps on ideas from game design sessions with children, ideas from game designers and resilience professionals.
- 14. GAME LOGIC This diagram maps: Game Flow Content Gateways Achievements Collectibles Unique content codes Content by type
- 16. Effective Collaboration People are in multiple locations Many aspects of the projects require specialist brains Tools are important. We used these: BASECAMP = Conversation & decision making GOOGLE DOCS = Collaborative authoring CODEBASE = Tracking tasks and workflow
- 17. Q. where do you find good people?
- 18. Generalists v Specialists Your core team should have a high percentage of generalists. Very skilled people who can apply themselves across tasks (game design, UX, team management and so on). Specialists should be brought in and out of the project in short bursts.
- 19. The Team Core Team: 20 Contractors: 37 Jo Roach - Executive Producer Antonio Gould - Project Manager PROJECT DEFINITION & UCD VIDEO PRODUCTION CONTRIBUTORS Jo Roach - Executive Producer Jim Holmes - Producer/Director Fraser Doherty (Jam Boy) Paul Bennun - Chief Creative Officer Ed Hallifax - Assistant Producer Miquita Oliver Tassos Stevens - Associate Producer & UCD Sian Larkin - Production Coordinator Gemma Merna Tom Bowtell - UCD & Researcher Andrea Mercado - Researcher Labrinth Glyn Canon - Schools Liaison Jamie Williams - Editor Dan Hodgson - Camera Operator Danielle Brown Paul Ruston - Sound Designer Amazing Phil NARRATIVE James Tovell - Director of Drama Rickie Haywood-Williams Neil Bennun - Story & Script Writer Matt Broad - DOP Drama Melvin Odoom Neil Richards - Story Writer Lisa Baker - Camera Operator Drama Amazing Phil Paul Lucas - Camera Operator Ed De Lacy - Sounds Engineer Dubbing Mixer - Nick Read GAMES PRODUCTION TECH TEAM Project Manager Rob McHardy - Lead Tech James Miller - Animation Tomasso de Sanctis - Storyboard Game Designer David Herse - Front End Coder Level Designer Clara Udofa - Front End Coder Alice Hopkins - Hair & Make-Up Developer 1 CAST Developer 2 D'Mentor - Mawaan Rizwan Developer 3 DESIGN Developer 4 Mr Piltdown - Dave Robson Dean Vipond - UI & Interface Design Artist 1 Ben Steers - Illustrator Miss Xavier - Juliette Goodman Artist 2 Miss Kerry - Eve Dallas QA Physics teacher - Adam Shipway EXPERTS Voiceover Boy - Jack Baldwin Prof Sandra Scott - Psychology Consultant Voiceover Girl - Annie Simm Poppy Nash, Uni of York - Transition Consultant Student cast from Bancrofts School, Woodford Green
- 20. Budget - Sample Rates Project Experts & Execs: Producers/Project Managers: £250 - £350pd Technologists: £250 - £500pd Concept Artworking: £350-500pd Design & Usability: £250 - £500pd Educational Consultants: £400pd - £600pd Audio/Video Producer/Director: £250 - £350pd Rate Variation: Sound Design: £450-550pd Experience Production Staff: £150 - £250pd Generalist or Specialist? Skill Level Creative Efficiency Illustration: Very variable Length of term Narrative: Very variable IP ownership Talent: Very variable Location
- 21. Cost Saving... Know when to stop creative divergence Creative Freedom v Project Efficiency Utilise and develop generalists in core team Give new talent a chance Negotiate lower rates in return for more time Develop relationships across projects Continue to develop your own skills
- 22. (thanks) I’m joroach on twitter and skype jroach@makielab.com